Vacuum dust pan and reel



Sept. 27, 1955 H. K. CYMARA ,718,655

VACUUM DUST PAN AND REEL Filed Jan. 14, 1954 INVENTOR. HERMANN K. CVMARA BY W United States Patent O VACUUM DUST PAN AND REEL Hermann K. Cymara, Ithaca, N. Y.

Application January 14, 1954, Serial No. 403,994

1 Claim. (Cl. 15-310) This invention relates to vacuum cleaners used in homes and vacuum cleaning systems such as used in large buildings and hotels. While such vacuum cleaners are eflicient in collecting and disposing of most of the dust and dirt found in the rooms, there is always a certain amount of dust on furniture, window sills and elsewhere that makes necessary the use of a dust cloth or dust mop. These are usually shaken back into the room or out of the window; and while the amount of such dust may be small, it is desirable to completely dispose of it by putting it in the vacuum cleaner system if possible. Attempts have been made to do this, but they have either added to the Weight and complexity of the vacuum cleaning machines where such machines were used, or have unduly added to the load of equipment which the cleaning woman has had to transport from room to room, so that such machines have not found ready acceptance by the workers. In other words, they have not progressed far enough to be true labor saving devices.

One of the more cumbersome parts that a cleaning woman must drag from place to place, particularly in large buildings, is the long hose that is plugged into vacuum suction sockets in the walls, the sockets being connected by permanent piping to a vacuum machine in the basement. In order to reach all parts of the rooms, these hoses must be rather long and heavy, and

they are generally dragged about at random and have to be coiled by hand in great loops when moving to another room. It merely adds to the complexity to try to use a separate hose cart or reel of the ordinary type such as used in gardens and elsewhere.

The present invention combines a vacuum hose reel and dust pan in a single convenient device, having a single chamber element for both the dust pan and the main cleaner hose, and utilizing that chamber as the hub of the reel on which the hose may be wound. The reel lies on its side and forms a convenient and compact apparatus to help keep the hose lines in order, instead of having them strewn in confusion all over the floor. A transfer valve prevents either side of the line from breaking the vacuum when the other side is in use. By combining the elements in such a way that some of them are used for adouble purpose, the weight and size of the entire device is reduced to manageable proportions, so that it becomes a labor saving device for the Worker.

Other objects of the invention are to guard against the dust cloth or mop clogging the outlet of the dust collecting pan, and to provide means for assisting the cleaning woman in shaking the dust out of the mop or cloth. A further object is to provide automatic rewinding of the hose so as to make it easier to handle the hose as the cleaning progresses; by placing the device in the middle of a room a hose is usable to its best advantage and a shorter and lighter hose may be employed. Another object is to provide a steady base which can also be used in carrying the machine from place to place.

The device is made of relatively light parts most of which can be metal stampings or formed from dies, and is capable of easy manufacture and assembly.

Referring now to the drawing forming part of this specification, Fig. l is a vertical cross-sectional view, partly in elevation, the cross-section being taken thru the center of the machine.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the various views.

The device consists in general of a hose reel laid on its side, with the hub of the hose reel having in its upper side a suction dust pan or bowl for dust mops. As shown in Fig. 1, the hose reel is comprised of an upper circular flange or side 1 and a lower circular flange or side 2. Between these two sides or flanges, which do not rotate in reeling, there is an inner drum 3 rotatably mounted on inner hub bearings 4 which permit the inner drum 3 to turn with the vacuum cleaner tool hose 5 when it is unreeled for use. The bearings are sealed by suitable packings 4 so as not to break the suction. Inside the rotatable drum 3 is a helical rewinding spring 6 with one end attached to the drum 3 and the other end attached to the fixed inner hub 7 which does not turn. In fact, almost all of the device is normally stationary except for the inner reel drum 3 and retracting parts described.

Inside the fixed inner hub 7 and in the center of the upper hose reel flange 1 is located a dust pan 10 of generally hemispherical contour having a central orifice 11 in its bottom which may be connected thru the valve 12 directly to a vertical pipe or conduit means 14, provided at its lower end with an elbow 15 to which the hose 16, that furnishes the primary suction or supply of vacuum, is attached. This hose 16 at the other end may be attached to any suitable vacuum port or intake such as provided in many portable machines or to the base board sockets found in large hotels and oflice buildings that are piped to a large stationary vacuum machine in the basement. The valve 12 may be opened or closed by the rod 17 pivotally attached thereto, which rod can be set in either the open or closed positions by detent notches 18 near the handle 19. This valve 12 serves a double purpose as will be described later.

In order to prevent a dust mop jamming or clogging the orifice 11 when the mop is inserted in the pan or bowl 10, the pan 10 is provided with an open wire basket or net consisting of rather widely spaced wires 20 lying in its periphery but curved to provide considerable clearance at the bottom. These wires 20 not only provide protection against a cloth or mop clogging the suction orifice 11 but also assist in cleaning the mop if it is turned or rubbed against them so that they knock the dust loose. The control rod 17 extends up between the wires 20.

The foregoing described the principal parts that are in use when the device is employed as a dust pan for mops or dust cloths. When the apparatus is used for ordinary vacuum cleaning, that is, connected to a cleaner tool through the hose 5, the valve 12 is closed in the bowl orifice 11 but open with respect to a lateral connecting pipe 30 which leads to an annular chamber 31 extending around the hub, through which vacuum may be applied thru the socket opening 32 to the hose 5, regardless of what position the hose drum 3 may assume in reeling or unreeling. The packings 4 maintain an adequate seal against leakage. The inner end of the cleaner tool hose 5 is attached to the socket 32 at .all times in the ordinary use of the device. The entire apparatus is mounted on legs or runners 35 which support it off the floor sufiiciently high to permit the egress of the primary suction connecting hose 16.

While I have in the foregoing described certain specific forms by way of example, it will be understood that they are merely for purposes of illustration to make clear the principles of the invention, which is not limited to the particular forms shown but is susceptible to various modifications and adaptations in different installations as will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as stated in the following claim.

I claim:

In a vacuum dust pan and reel, the combination of an upper flange having a central opening, a lower flange, an inner rotatable drum between said flanges, a fixed hub within said drum to which said upper and lower flanges are attached, a vacuum cleaner hose on said drum, a retracting spring attached between said hub and drum and exerting a force for assisting in rewinding said hose on said drum, a dust pan in the central opening of the upper flange with its bottom inside the fixed hub, said pan having a vacuum suction orifice in its bottom, a conduit means adapted to connect said orifice to a source of vacuum, said fixed hub being concentric with and of smaller diameter than the drum to define an annular chamber therebetween, a vacuum pipe extending between said chamber and the conduit means, a socket mounted on the drum and having a passage therethru communicating at one end with the annular chamber and the other end of the passage communicating with the hose, whereby said hose may be connected to the source of vacuum at any position of the drum relative to the vacuum pipe, and a two way valve between the orifice in the dust pan and the vacuum pipe to the annular chamber whereby the said orifice may be closed when the vacuum to the annular chamber and hose is open and vice versa, so that a working vacuum is maintained in either the dust pan or the vacuum cleaner hose.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,809,337 Hall June 9, 1931 1,870,887 Bernhard Aug. 9, 1932 2,625,703 Devau Jan. 20, 1953 

